Rut Question

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When is your peak rut. And number one reason why it might vary year to year

  • Same time every year pretty much

    Votes: 27 56.3%

  • It can vary a week or more.

    Votes: 18 37.5%

  • Varies because of ....weather

    Votes: 4 8.3%

  • ....moon

    Votes: 1 2.1%

  • ....herd health

    Votes: 1 2.1%

  • ....mast crop

    Votes: 6 12.5%

  • ....pressure

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • ....something else

    Votes: 1 2.1%
  • Total voters
    48
  • Poll closed .
batten_down

batten_down

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Clarksville
In your opinion, in the area you hunt the most, is the peak rut every year pretty much the same time -give or take a couple days- or does it vary by a week or more.

If it varies, what is the number one reason it can vary.

You have two choices.
 
Never varies... until this year. I have no idea why, but I suspect it was due to the incredible condition my deer entered this fall. But my analytical brain has been working on this for over a month, and I know there are other reasons... I just haven't figured them out.... YET... I WILL figure it out... thats the stuff I live for.
 
batten_down said:
Interesting. A lot of us witnessed rut behavior way outside the norm this season. I did here in Montgomery county.
Click to expand...

Yes far too many people across the whitetail range have all noted significant abnormal variations from normal rut timing and cycles. I've personally saw it on multiple properties in multiple states. Something is/was different this year in the entire whitetail world. Too soon to know the cause(s) yet but no doubt there'll be a lot of theories and studies that spur from this season.
 
Matter of fact there was a local resident who posted pictures of a Fawn last week. It looked to be maybe 2 weeks old or so.

Almost unbelievable, but nature is nature.
 
Not seen much of it until the last 10 days, no idea why other than the Comet caused it 🤣
 
Ski said:
Yes far too many people across the whitetail range have all noted significant abnormal variations from normal rut timing and cycles. I've personally saw it on multiple properties in multiple states. Something is/was different this year in the entire whitetail world. Too soon to know the cause(s) yet but no doubt there'll be a lot of theories and studies that spur from this season.
Click to expand...
Full agreement. I even pulled out my copy of Hunting Whitetails by the Moon by Charles Alsheimer to see what the book predicted about this year's rut timing. Interestingly, he did predict an earlier rut. But not early enough to match up with what I've seen and heard. Im really trying to sort through this while its fresh in all our minds to learn what I can from it.
 
It kicked off on te farm i hunt same time as usual. killed my 2 bucks both mature within 4 days of every single mature deer i have killed on the property. And i have limited the last 10 years on this particular farm. Now i did have to move stands for the first time in several seasons die to them changing patterns but it was right on time
 
megalomaniac said:
Never varies... until this year. I have no idea why, but I suspect it was due to the incredible condition my deer entered this fall. But my analytical brain has been working on this for over a month, and I know there are other reasons... I just haven't figured them out.... YET... I WILL figure it out... thats the stuff I live for.
Click to expand...
When you do figure it out, please let me know!
 
All kidding aside hunter observations are subjective and therefore not reliable. Deer do what deer do year in and year out. Not looking to argue. After 45 years of hunting whitetail you can swear the rut isn't happening but a half mile away the woods are busting with activity, chases and breeding like spring break. My $0.02.
 
batten_down said:
The period when the highest number of does are in estrus and receptive to being bred
Click to expand...
TWRA has said for many years Nov 21st is the date of the highest majority of does are bred. Granted the day may only be 9 or 10 per cent but that number drops every day before and every day after the 21st.
I believe Kentucky also agrees with that date.
 
useyourbow said:
All kidding aside hunter observations are subjective and therefore not reliable. Deer do what deer do year in and year out. Not looking to argue. After 45 years of hunting whitetail you can swear the rut isn't happening but a half mile away the woods are busting with activity, chases and breeding like spring break. My $0.02.
Click to expand...
Your a 100 percent right. But 30 cell cameras plus 7 SD cameras and a pile of hours in the woods this year the rut hit early this year, compared to all the years prior.
 
I hunt Missouri same week every week for the last several years. This year when I went I was a week or so behind the height of activity. Most of the bucks were already tending their main squeezes. Here at home north hamilton county was also a week or so ahead of the very trusty week of the 18th being the most seen activity.
I saw 9 does grouped back up this morning in my yard which is a tell tale sign the "Peak rut" has passed. There will be sporadic breeding in to late Jan. like always I'm sure. Not sure what caused it this year but it for sure happened in my world.
 
There are
  • 3,097,600 square yards in a square mile
  • Cell camera cone of coverage covers 1600 square feet which is approximately 177 square yards
  • 30 cameras x 177 sq yards equals 5310 sq yards divided by 3,097,600= .17 % coverage of a square mile.
Cameras are not fool proof measurements of deer behavior especially when the deer alter their behavior based on human activity. Just saying.
 
useyourbow said:
There are
  • 3,097,600 square yards in a square mile
  • Cell camera cone of coverage covers 1600 square feet which is approximately 177 square yards
  • 30 cameras x 177 sq yards equals 5310 sq yards divided by 3,097,600= .17 % coverage of a square mile.
Cameras are not fool proof measurements of deer behavior especially when the deer alter their behavior based on human activity. Just saying.
Click to expand...
I see way more deer than my cameras do. It's rather surprising how much they miss.
 
useyourbow said:
There are
  • 3,097,600 square yards in a square mile
  • Cell camera cone of coverage covers 1600 square feet which is approximately 177 square yards
  • 30 cameras x 177 sq yards equals 5310 sq yards divided by 3,097,600= .17 % coverage of a square mile.
Cameras are not fool proof measurements of deer behavior especially when the deer alter their behavior based on human activity. Just saying.
Click to expand...
I dont disagree again. Just pointing i what I and many many people on here has seen this year. As are several other people. It was the best rut I've ever been apart of. It was just early.
 
Before 4-5 years ago, yes they do do the same thing and timing is the same year over year. However the last few years have gone from one end of the spectrum to the other with severe droughts and complete/total acorn failures to bumper crops I've never seen before from one year to the next. They've done complete 180s

All of that does factor in. The rut was super late last year. Most action we saw was the last week of November and first week of December. This is close to 3 weeks later than tradition in our area. And everyone knows that 2nd cycle comes in almost 30 days after that. There's a reason we had so many 25 lb fawns going into November this year. The tiniest I've ever seen them

What I can't figure out is why all the action this year was the last 2 weeks of October and a couple days of November, then almost completely died.

Overall, it's most exclusively driven by food (acorns) in my area. Weather, moon, pressure, etc… has no bearing on timing of the peak breeding.
 
What I've noticed in the limited time that I've hunted this year is sporadic rut activity from late October, til the couple of half-hearted chases I saw last weekend. Never really a defined chasing period, and scrapes staying active practically the whole time. I've seen single adult does wandering like ladies of the night, and also does grouped together the whole time.

In the area of Henry county that I hunt, you'll get run over by chases right around Thanksgiving in a "normal" year. I actually saw what looked to be a doe chasing a decent 8 point like she needed him bad, with a button buck fawn following behind and bleating.

Talk about a freaky year.
 

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